Tuesday, 19 November 2013

Stampede winner’s Daydreams come true

A Gold Coast man who proposed to his girlfriend at Daydream Island Resort and Spa plans to return and spend his honeymoon there after scooping the top prize at a unique social gaming event.

Leon Unus was the winner of Stampede – a cross between a treasure hunt and childhood game ‘capture the flag’, played out via an app.

The first social gaming event of its kind in Australia, Stampede begun after players downloaded the free Stampede app and used a real time map feed to locate a virtual prize token and other players in relation to their location.

The event took place last month in Brisbane and ran over seven days. The main prize was a 5-night holiday for two at Daydream Island valued at $4200.

Mr Unus and his partner Amanda Dau, 26, both took part in Stampede with the aim of winning the prize.

“I proposed to Amanda on Daydream Island during a five night holiday in September and we wanted to return there, but next time for our honeymoon,” 31-year-old Mr Unus said.

“Stampede was quite intense and a lot of fun to play. We are very excited about winning and look forward to revisiting Daydream as a married couple.”

Mr Unus, an apprentice fitter and turner, and Ms Dau, a medical receptionist, plan to marry in March 2015.

Daydream Island Resort and Spa director of marketing Jane Hermann said she was delighted to be a part of Stampede, and to give a young couple a honeymoon to remember.

“Daydream Island holds a special place for Leon and Amanda and we’re thrilled that we’ll be able to welcome them back as husband and wife,” she said.

Daydream Island Resort and Spa is located in Queensland’s tropical Whitsundays in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef.

The award-winning resort features 296 rooms and suites and is home to one of the world’s largest man-made living coral reef lagoons known as The Living Reef, a great selection of restaurants and bars, a fringing coral reef and a Rejuvenation Spa offering a comprehensive selection of health and beauty treatments.

Stampede founder Michael Tate said the Brisbane Stampede was the first in a line-up of Stampedes that will take place all over Australia in the coming months.

The unique game involves players capturing a prize token with their iPhones when they are within 50 metres of the token, and staying away from other players who are able to steal it back.

The person with the prize token in their possession when the game time ends is the winner.